Wheeling Gull Isle Revenge of the orchestra.

One glance at Dinah’s face told Towhee that she’d rocked the child’s world. She said nothing, letting the girl process it as her eyes started to glimmer. Uh-oh, Towhee thought, albeit with sympathy, here come the waterworks…

But they didn’t come. Instead, out popped a question. It took Towhee an extra moment to parse it, on account of the lip-quivering and stuttering. But she quickly understood. And there were so, so many ways she could respond to such a question.

What if he is? Towhee countered, perhaps just to be contrarian or maybe to soften the blow or possibly because it was simply a thought-provoking question. You know, even if there isn’t a God out there to dictate your behavior, there’s still merit to some religious teachings. Like be a good person, for instance. In fact, I’d make the argument that being a good person for its own sake and not simply because you wanna get some cool prize in the afterlife is actually much more meaningful.